Scott Backes
Encyclopedia
Scott Backes is an American mountaineer
. Backes has been called "one of the leading alpine mountain climbers in the United States".
He was born in 1956 and has lived most of his life in Minnesota. He started climbing in 1975. His climbing style is light and fast, in an Alpine style
. Through the years Scott has done many extreme climbs including first ascents in the Alps
, Patagonia
, the Bolivian Andes
, and the Alaska Range
. His climbing partners include many notable mountaineers, such as Mark Twight
, Steve House
, Barry Blanchard
, and Michael Kennedy
.
in the Alaska Range
. This was a 72 hour blitz of a route than halved the previous fastest time. Mark Twight was his climbing partner.
2. "M16" Howse Peak
East Face. Scott Backes, Barry Blanchard and Steve House complete an "outstanding winter route" in the Canadian Rockies.
3. "Fuck Em, They're all Posers Anyway" in Bolivia on Pico del Norte
. On this route Scott Backes and Mark Twight climbed 19,000 ft. Pico del Norte without ropes or packs. This was a difficult climb, and they carried minimal gear.
4. " The Czech Direct" on Denali
. The Slovak Direct as it is formally called, is the toughest route on Denali, and one of the hardest routes that has ever been climbed (2000). Scott came out of "serious" climbing retirement (43 years old) to try this route with his friends Mark Twight and Steve House. With minimal gear including no tent or sleeping bags, they climbed the route in a 60 hour continuous push.
5. Scott Backes met Mark Twight in 1989 in Chamonix
, France. There, they forged a partnership that would last for over 12 years. The routes done in the Alps included many of the "classics" in and around Chamonix, including a first ascent
of "There Goes The Neighborhood" on the northwest face of the Aiguille Sans Nom.
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
. Backes has been called "one of the leading alpine mountain climbers in the United States".
He was born in 1956 and has lived most of his life in Minnesota. He started climbing in 1975. His climbing style is light and fast, in an Alpine style
Alpine style
Alpine style refers to mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter, equipment etc. as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked camps on the mountain which can be accessed at one's leisure...
. Through the years Scott has done many extreme climbs including first ascents in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, the Bolivian Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, and the Alaska Range
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
. His climbing partners include many notable mountaineers, such as Mark Twight
Mark Twight
Born on November 2nd, 1961 in Yosemite National Park, California, Mark Twight rose to prominence in the world Alpine mountaineering community in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a well-documented series of difficult, dangerous alpine climbs in various ranges around the world.-Climbing:He made...
, Steve House
Steve House
Steve House is an American professional climber and mountain guide from La Grande, Oregon.-Biography:House earned a Bachelor of Science in ecology from The Evergreen State College in 1995...
, Barry Blanchard
Barry Blanchard
Barry Blanchard is one of North America's top alpinists, noted for pushing the standards of highly technical, high-risk alpine climbing in the Canadian Rockies and the Himalayas.- Climbing accomplishments :...
, and Michael Kennedy
Michael Kennedy (climber)
Michael Kennedy is an American rock climber, alpinist, photographer, writer and editor.From 1974 to 1998 he was the editor of Climbing magazine, the most influential of American climbing magazines...
.
Mountaineering accomplishments
1. "Deprivation" on Mount HunterMount Hunter (Alaska)
Mount Hunter, or Begguya, is a mountain in Denali National Park in Alaska. It is approximately 8 miles south of Mount McKinley, or Denali, the highest peak in North America. "Begguya" means child in the Dena'ina language...
in the Alaska Range
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
. This was a 72 hour blitz of a route than halved the previous fastest time. Mark Twight was his climbing partner.
2. "M16" Howse Peak
Howse Peak
Howse Peak is the highest mountain in the Waputik Range, a subrange of the Canadian Rockies. It is located west of the Icefields Parkway, above Chephren Lake, on the continental divide between Alberta and British Columbia. It is the 46th highest peak in Alberta, and the 59th highest in British...
East Face. Scott Backes, Barry Blanchard and Steve House complete an "outstanding winter route" in the Canadian Rockies.
3. "Fuck Em, They're all Posers Anyway" in Bolivia on Pico del Norte
Cordillera Real (Bolivia)
The Cordillera Real is a mountain range in the South American Altiplano of Bolivia. This range of fold mountains, largely composed of granite, is located southeast of Lake Titicaca, and east of the Bolivian capital of La Paz, measuring 125 km in length and 20 km in width...
. On this route Scott Backes and Mark Twight climbed 19,000 ft. Pico del Norte without ropes or packs. This was a difficult climb, and they carried minimal gear.
4. " The Czech Direct" on Denali
Mount McKinley
Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, United States is the highest mountain peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.- Geology and features :Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton...
. The Slovak Direct as it is formally called, is the toughest route on Denali, and one of the hardest routes that has ever been climbed (2000). Scott came out of "serious" climbing retirement (43 years old) to try this route with his friends Mark Twight and Steve House. With minimal gear including no tent or sleeping bags, they climbed the route in a 60 hour continuous push.
5. Scott Backes met Mark Twight in 1989 in Chamonix
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...
, France. There, they forged a partnership that would last for over 12 years. The routes done in the Alps included many of the "classics" in and around Chamonix, including a first ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of "There Goes The Neighborhood" on the northwest face of the Aiguille Sans Nom.